A senior Buckingham Palace aide has resigned from her position following allegations of racism after she repeatedly asked a Black British charity leader where she was “really” from.

Lady Susan Hussey, 83, served as a longtime lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth II and is Prince William’s godmother. She had recently taken a role as a close advisor to King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, helping to host occasions at the palace, which is where the incident occurred.

On Tuesday 29 November, Ngozi Fulani, founder of Sistah Space, a charity that supports Black women affected by domestic abuse, attended a function at the palace, where she was questioned about her background.

Sharing her experience on Twitter later that day, Fulani wrote: “Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 mins after arriving, a member of staff, Lady SH, approached me, moved my hair to see my name badge. The conversation below took place. The rest of the event is a blur.”

As Fulani claimed, the conversation included Lady Hussey (referred to only as Lady SH) repeatedly asking, “Where are you from?” and “What nationality are you?” before asking, “No, but where do you really come from, where do your people come from?”

Fulani expressed multiple times that she was a British national before Lady Hussey reportedly stated: “I can see I am going to have a challenge getting you to say where you’re from.”

Following the incident, Fulani said she was supported by Women’s Equality Party leader Mandu Reid and charity executive Suzanne Jacob.

In an interview with the Independent, Fulani said the issue was “bigger than one individual. It’s institutional racism.”

“I was in shock after it happened and anybody who knows me knows I don’t take this kind of nonsense,” she said. “But I had to consider so many things. As a Black person, I found myself in this place where I wanted to say something but what happened would automatically be seen as my fault, it would bring [my charity] Sistah Space down.”

However, Fulani said she did not want to see Lady Hussey “vilified”.

In response to Fulani’s claims, Buckingham Palace said of the events: “We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details.

“In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We have reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter, and are inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes.

“In the meantime, the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt caused and has stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.

“All members of the household are being reminded of the diversity and inclusivity policies which they are required to uphold at all times,” the statement continued.

A spokesperson for Prince William added: “Racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”

Lady Hussey’s comments come after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, claimed last year that a member of the royal household raised concerns about what colour skin her son, Archie, would have.

“We have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security; he’s not going to be given a title,’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Meghan told Oprah Winfrey in their highly publicised TV interview.

In the programme, Prince Harry also confirmed that someone had expressed worry about, as he put it, “what will the kids look like”.

Prince William, however, said the family “are very much not racist” when challenged by a reporter following the interview claims.

Images: Getty